Author: mhelbert

For the Letter Kills, But the Spirit Gives Life

Published by mhelbert on April 24, 2023

A couple of weeks ago in Akron, Ohio, a grand jury made a decision that was legally correct. They decided not to bring charges against police in the shooting of Jayland Walker. For those who aren’t familiar with this case, Jayland was driving a car with a tail light out and a missing license plate light. When police tried to pull him over, he fled. During the chase, Walker fired a shot from a gun out of the car window. When he finally stopped, he jumped out of his car and ran. He was apparently wearing a mask on his face. At some time during the chase Jayland appeared to turn and move his arm in a manner that the officers interpreted as reaching for a weapon. Eight officers then opened fire. More than 90 rounds were fired. Over half of those rounds struck Jayland killing him.
Rightly, I think, most people thought at the very least that was excessive. Ninety + rounds? For a broken tail light? Ok, there was the apparent gun shot early in the chase. And, a gun was found in Jayland’s car. But, not on his person when he was shot. I’ve never been involved in anything like that. I cannot even imagine the fear that filled both Jayland and the eight officers. At times like that, with adrenaline pumping by the gallon, rational thought flees and the amygdala takes over. Fight or flight? In this case both were present in shooters and victim.
The grand jury considered the use of force and found that it was reasonable in those circumstances.
I think that was probably the correct LEGAL decision.
But, was it the correct MORAL decision?
Of course, the law doesn’t give a flying fuck about morals. You can’t judge morals. Laws are easy. They’re black and white. A person either follows the rules or they don’t. When they don’t, well, there are consequences. Our country is proud of its Rule of Law. No one is above the Law! Well, maybe a lot of people find themselves pinned under the law. Jayland Walker was one of those people.
One of the things about the Rule of Law is that sometimes, (many times?), people equate following the letter of the law with being right or moral. If I follow the law, even if I act in a morally reprehensible manner, I’m OK. No harm; no foul. The law vindicates my actions. Look at Me! I’m a Good Law-abiding Citizen! Yay, me! I think that’s part of the problem with the Rule of Law. It gives law enforcement, in particular, the illusion of having the moral high ground. Almost anything that law enforcement do can be justified legally. After all, they represent the People. Right? And, as such they are given almost complete discretion to act in ways that they interpret as in the public’s interest. That’s a very large canvas to paint on. Any decent lawyer can come up with some argument to show that no matter what law enforcement does is in the public’s interest.
I think that this is grossly abused by the powers that be. Laws are written and interpreted in order to vindicate the use of force, many times deadly, so that almost any act can be justified. It is Morally Wrong. We can never allow what is simply correct by the letter of the law to stand higher than the Moral mandates of being human beings in society. We’ve stood by and watched abuse after abuse, particularly to those who are the weakest and most marginalized in society. And, time after time after time the abuses have been blown away like smoke on the wind. The unimaginable inequities that allow the powerful to get away with murdering, executing, people who the powerful don’t give a damn about must end. Somehow. I don’t have a clue how to see that happen. Do we vote? Do we protest? Do we write blog posts?
Paul the Apostle wrote to the Church at Corinth about this. Even in ancient time people hid behind the law. It gave them the so-called freedom to do anything that fell within the bounds of that law. Paul, however, clarified some things for those folks. He wrote that God has made us adequate, not be the law, but by the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit give life. The letter is written, says Paul, not on tablets of stone, but on the tablets of the human heart. If anything is this rant makes sense, I hope it’s that the Letter of the Law cannot justify acts of immorality against other human beings. It is not capable of that. It was not created for that. Even though the powerful write laws to protect themselves, they cannot write away the love of God that demands we treat one another with redemptive justice.

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How Did We Get Here, Old Friend?

Published by mhelbert on April 16, 2023

I enjoy walking around our city. I think that at one time or another I’ve covered every street within our boarders and some of our neighboring burgs. I started doing this when I was still in high school. Back then, I’d walk at night. Alone with my thoughts and feelings swirling around my mind like Poe’s Maelstrom. In those days I had all of the tensions that come with being no longer child, not quite adult. It’s a wonder that our species has survived, let alone flourished, when such violence rages within the minds of so many of us. Yet, survive and flourish we have.
Now, in my so-called Golden Years I continue to walk the many miles of the city. I don’t go out in the evenings any more. Such has life chosen that those hours be spent trying to unwind and prepare for a long evening’s sleep. Even that can be difficult for those with gimpy prostates. But, that’s another story. When I walk today, especially in those old neighborhoods that I grew up in and around, my mind draws me backward into that age of restless energy. I recall the sights and smells of a much younger and less developed city. When fields and woods stretched out forever. Within those wild lands lay adventures and mystery. We explored them with the stealth that only a child may think is actually ‘stealthy.’ We built forts and brought sandwiches and apples so that we could truly live in those fortresses of cleared ground with ramparts of dead leaves. Such is the world of the very young. Temporary. Transient. A passing vapor.
When I got older I was an aspiring young freak. I played rock-n-roll and hung out with other rock-n-roll wannabes. We laughed. We got high. We made pretty good music. It was always hard for me to have friends. You see, I can be a pretty assy asshole. My assholery in those days was unmitigated by the erosion of age. Sharp-edged assholing can get pretty nasty sometimes. So, for me to have these band-buddies was a wonderful thing. Of course, being an asshole meant that I sometimes pushed the boundaries pretty hard. Fortunately, there was one guy who never put up with my assholing. He, of course, became my best friend and brother from another mother. Eventually, this age past as all do. One day we all found our paths diverging. I saw a light and followed it. My friends, my mates, my best friend chose to let me. And, I chose to leave them.
The reason I’m writing this is that recently, as I’ve walked the streets of the city, old and new, my mind has gone back to those days. The memories of growing warts on our feet in the middle of one street. Of climbing trees and the cliffs along the lake shore. Chasing butterflies and the elusive “Beatles chords” on the guitar. The thoughts flood back into my mind stirring up those old currents that once flowed with power and evidenced the change of life that always follows.
Perhaps this little melancholic trip down that good ol’ Memory Lane was inspired by a poem that a friend shared on social media a short while ago. The poem, “Our Nature,” by Rae Armantrout takes a hard look at the changes that we all wander through. The old photograph seen. The realization that all of that has changed. Disappointment is real. Where did we all go? While the poem doesn’t fit my own thoughts and reflections like my well-worn t-shirts, it does provoke the mind’s searchlight to scan the horizons, the peaks, the valleys trying to see any shadow or vestige of what once was.
All of that to say, I miss you guys. I miss you desperately. I don’t know where you are, save one. I don’t know whether you live still or have walked on, again, save one.
So, to Bruce, Craig, Ted, Dave, Greg, Jeff, and the other Jeff, I love you guys. You’ll always be jammin’ in my heart.

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Good Friday: The Story Begins

Published by mhelbert on April 7, 2023

I have all sorts of things to write about. Today, though, there is only One Story to tell.

53 Who has believed what he has heard from us?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
2 For he grew up before him like a young plant,
and like a root out of dry ground;
he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
and no beauty that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4 Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his wounds we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he opened not his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
so he opened not his mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away;
and as for his generation, who considered
that he was cut off out of the land of the living,
stricken for the transgression of my people?
9 And they made his grave with the wicked
and with a rich man in his death,
although he had done no violence,
and there was no deceit in his mouth. (Is. 53:1-9)

¹ My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?
² O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer, and by night, but I find no rest.
³ Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel.
⁴ In you our fathers trusted; they trusted, and you delivered them.
⁵ To you they cried and were rescued; in you they trusted and were not put to shame.
⁶ But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by mankind and despised by the people.
⁷ All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me; they wag their heads;
⁸ “He trusts in the Lord; let him deliver him; let him rescue him, for he delights in him!”
⁹ Yet you are he who took me from the womb; you made me trust you at my mother’s breasts.
¹⁰ On you was I cast from my birth, and from my mother’s womb you have been my God.
¹¹ Be not far from me, for trouble is near, and there is none to help.
¹² Many bulls encompass me; strong bulls of Bashan surround me;
¹³ they open wide their mouths at me, like a ravening and roaring lion.
¹⁴ I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it is melted within my breast;
¹⁵ my strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to my jaws; you lay me in the dust of death.
¹⁶ For dogs encompass me; a company of evildoers encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet—
¹⁷ I can count all my bones— they stare and gloat over me;
¹⁸ they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.
¹⁹ But you, O Lord, do not be far off! O you my help, come quickly to my aid!
²⁰ Deliver my soul from the sword, my precious life from the power of the dog!
²¹ Save me from the mouth of the lion! You have rescued me from the horns of the wild oxen!
²² I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will praise you:
²³ You who fear the Lord, praise him! All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him, and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!
²⁴ For he has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, and he has not hidden his face from him, but has heard, when he cried to him.
²⁵ From you comes my praise in the great congregation; my vows I will perform before those who fear him.
²⁶ The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek him shall praise the Lord! May your hearts live forever!
²⁷ All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you.
²⁸ For kingship belongs to the Lord, and he rules over the nations.
²⁹ All the prosperous of the earth eat and worship; before him shall bow all who go down to the dust, even the one who could not keep himself alive.
³⁰ Posterity shall serve him; it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation;
³¹ they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn, that he has done it. (Ps. 22)

Today is Good Friday. We remember the death of God.
If you read this far, you saw that the end is NOT death. For, “All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord…”

Blessings to you all.

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Do I Act Like I Have a Soft Heart?

Published by mhelbert on April 5, 2023

During this Lenten season, some of us from St. B’s have met on Sunday evenings for discussions on The Way of Love. This is something that the Chief Cooks and Bottlewashers of the Episcopal Church prepared for us. Basically, there are some prompts during the week and a video to watch. On Sunday, we met on Zoom to talk about them. It is a Spiritual Formation thing that enables us to stop and think a bit about the direction of our lives as we relate to God and each other. Well, that’s what Spiritual Formation is all about. So, I guess it’s appropriate. Anyway, (I use ‘anyway’ a lot), a couple weeks back we talked about “Blessing.” Of course, this was prepared by Progressive Christians, so the Scripture text that we used was stretched almost beyond recognition in order to fit what they wanted us to see.
Excursus:
Conservative Christians tend to read the Bible literally. There were 6 actual 24 hr. days of creation. Noah really built a big boat and floated around to escape a world-wide flood that destroyed all life on the planet. They do this in order to protect a predetermined belief system that they think will fall apart if they question this “doctrine.” Ok, they’re allowed to think what they want.
Liberal Christians like to start with belief and practice. They, then, interpret the Scriptures so that they will fit into that neat little package. Again, this is a reaction to the Conservative practice. Jesus and the Bible talk about love and peace and all kinds of good stuff. So, our interpretation of the Bible must be love and peace and all kinds of good stuff. Ok, nothing wrong there. The Scriptures are able to be interpreted in lots of ways that are not out of bounds. Both of these ways, though very different, fall within the playing field.
Ok, now that the excursus is over, we can get back to the main point of this blog post thing.
The person on the video went on to talk about baptismal covenants and sin and stuff. Many sentences and speculations later, she got to what I believe was the point of all of that rambling. The text we were instructed to read was from the Prophet Ezekiel. While speaking to the Israelite refugees who had been shipped off to Babylon, Ezekiel said that their days of captivity would one day end. At that time, God would, “Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh” (Ezek. 36:26).
A new heart. One that is flesh and not stone. Our discussion landed on that thought. What does a heart of flesh mean? A heart of stone? And, what does any of this have to do with Blessing?
As we talked folks started talking about benevolent practices. Feeding the hungry, supporting the marginalized, etc. Now, I think that I may have mentioned once or twice the influence of the Fundagelical world on me. One of the things that we were big into was the difference between being ‘spiritual’ and ‘worldly.’ For us, ‘worldly’ was a bad word. It was something that no self-respecting believer would ever allow themselves to get sucked into. And, it just so happened, benevolent practices fell under that rubric. Yeah, it was ok to be nice and help folks out. It was way more important to preach the gospel and get them saved. So, we didn’t really help anyone out unless they were 1. One of us. Gotta support the brothers and sisters. Paul said so. 2. So called, “Unbelievers” and we could get them to sit down and listen to a “message.” We’ll fill your belly if you’ll sit and listen to us try to fill your spirit. Actually, it was pretty much just a bait and switch con that we could justify with a veneer of spirituality.
Anyway, (there I go again!), as we talked I realized something. Having a new heart of flesh is pretty conclusive evidence that the person with that heart is living according to God’s will. The need to get all doctriney about preaching and saving and all of that does not prove a thing. Well, other than the person doing all that doctriney stuff is a jerk. No, the real proof of the Godly person is whether or not they have a heart that is soft and fleshy. Stone hearts are for statues and idols. There will come a day, so the Scriptures say, when all people will stand before God and give an accounting. Of what? Of what they had DONE, not what they merely thought or believed. A person with a soft heart DOES the work of God whether they believe in God or not.
Think about that for a minute. After you pick up the pieces of your brain, think about it some more. The Apostle James wrote, “You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works” (Jas. 2:18). If the stuff that we do is a reflection of who we are, and I think that it is, then it is in the Doing from a soft heart that is what is important.
Please don’t burn me at the stake! I’m only the messenger.

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A Wandering Mind and a Murder of Crows

Published by mhelbert on March 16, 2023

So, I’m sitting here on the day between the Ides of March and St. Patrick’s day. I just got back from walking Josie, aka the Beast, and, after, giving her a much needed bath. On days like today when we get to go out a walk for a few miles in the sunshine and air my mind tends to go somewhere on its own. As I listened to the screaming of a murder of crows echoing through the woods, a small hawk flew over. Earlier, I had watched as the Beast looked up. She had spotted a buzzard circling in search of a snack.
So during all of this time, my mind was wandering where it would. Now, I don’t know if anyone else’s mind works like this. Sometimes it’s a bit unnerving. When it came back there was a question formed within its deep folds. And, of course it had nothing to do with sun or birds, or even the Beast. It was a question that I’ve grappled with before. It goes something like this:
What makes the Church any different than any other benevolent organization?
The reason that I wonder about that is that so many people read the Gospel stories and find that Jesus taught moral and ethical behavior as a kind of truth statement. He treated the “Other” as real people who deserved love and acceptance. That whole bit about “turn the other cheek” rings true to many people. So, a lot of people, many who are devote Christians, view the Gospel as a manifesto for doing good works. A case in point, I was part of a discussion about Spiritual Formation with members of a progressive church. Well, the church that I attend, actually. When I asked about what Spiritual Formation was, the overwhelming answer was to grow as moral people. We should learn to do what’s right. Just like Jesus showed us. It sounds like the Red Cross or Crescent. Or, perhaps the local food bank. Doing good and moral work, for these people, is the same as Spiritual Formation.
I thought about that for a bit. What is the difference, if any, between that and classic Spiritual Formation? Because, actually what they are saying is more like Moral Formation to me. There’s nothing wrong with that. It just doesn’t sound like Spiritual Formation.
Moral Formation is necessary for communities to live together in a healthy environment. We must be aware of the needs of others. It also covers such things as environmentalism, health care, housing, and food insecurity. All of these are good and necessary for people to thrive. But, they are all directed outward to the world. That isn’t Spiritual Formation at all.
On the other hand, when I think of Spiritual Formation I think of an inward journey. My mind is drawn to look at God and allow God to look at me. The trajectory is more inward and upward. Not Moral Formation at all.
However, when one practices Spiritual Formation, and it is a practice, one finds that God is looking outward at the world. That’s why Jesus was always looking out at others. Not because He was some moral person. It was because He was the exemplar of a Spiritual person. When we seek to know God and to be known by God, our vision also turns outward. One of my heroes was a Trappist monk named Thomas Merton. He wrote that one day he was standing on a street corner in Louisville, KY when this thought came to him, “In Louisville, at the corner of Fourth and Walnut, in the center of the shopping district, I was suddenly overwhelmed with the realization that I loved all those people, that they were mine and I theirs, that we could not be alien to one another even though we were total strangers … There is no way of telling people that they are all walking around shining like the sun.”
Merton was not a better person than anyone else. He did, however, have a deep and lively Spiritual life. Just like Jesus before him, Merton’s practices of Spiritual Formation helped to inform his moral life. The Inward/Upward journey is not complete without the outward focus.
Now, I want to make one thing very clear. In no way am I saying that a person must be a follower of Jesus and practice Spiritual Formation in order to be a moral person. That’s as stupid a statement as it is arrogant. Like I mentioned above, Moral Formation is a good thing. It is a necessary thing. It is a community thing.
What I am saying is Moral Formation is not Spiritual Formation. Even though, in the end, they may net similar outcomes. So, when I consider what is the difference between the Church and benevolent organizations or people, I see that One has the good and welfare of the world as its focus and purpose. The other has God as its focus and purpose. And, to follow God faithfully requires that we also gaze outward.

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Chains! People Have Me Wrapped Up in Chains!

Published by mhelbert on March 14, 2023

Happy Pi Day! I’ll take 3.14159265359 slices of cherry, please!
Yesterday I wrote a pretty pitiful post full of whiny stuff. Well, actually, it was a shameless plug for the upcoming Bible study about Violence. But, it still sounded whiny to me. So, today I thought that I’d revisit something that I’m sure I’ve written about before. Just don’t ask me where or when. C’mon! I’m old! You can’t expect me to remember everything! Sheesh!
That topic is, “Why do I even do this?”
Why did I start this blog thingy over a decade ago? Why have I written well over 500 posts? Why do I continue writing even though very few people ever read it?
Good Questions! I’m glad you asked!
Like I wrote yesterday, there is an organic bond between me and following Jesus. The bond has been forged over more than 50 years of trying, (mostly, unsuccessfully), to faithfully follow Him. During all of those years I’ve experienced the good and bad of Xtianity. I’d like to think that there was more good than bad. I’m simply not sure about that. All those years ago I tossed my hat into the Church, including its history. For the greater part of 1,500 years that history has been bloody and full of violence. Some would say that the Church is just continuing the legacy of God’s people from the beginning. That’s a whole topic in itself. Just not the one I want to touch on now. No, the reason that I want to revisit this question of why is simply an ‘Apology’ in the ancient meaning of that word. Why do I do this thing with words? Words are Power. I’ve written that many times. And, will continue to do so. Because I believe that it’s absolutely true. Words have the power to change and control reality. Especially, the reality in which we each live in. They can, as they say, loose or bind. The binding kind are in my crosshairs.
When I think of words binding folks, the image of Jacob Marley in Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.” We’re told that every link in Marley’s chain was forged in this life by the choices that he made in not caring about others. While I know that Dickens was no theologian, his image of the chains is not far off. Whether we carry these chains into a hope for afterlife is beyond me. What I do know, however, is that the Words that we accept and believe very well may. Like I said, Words are Power.
I see the power to bind that words carry whenever I see someone speak derogatory words to another. Things like, “You’ll never amount to anything!” are powerful words. They are able to destroy another person in reality just as dead as any gun. The words that I take aim at are,”Unless you believe exactly as I do, you are going to hell!” Or, “God hates people! If not for Jesus standing between us and God, we would all be incinerated!” Or, “The Church has always thought this. Who are we to question it?” I could continue and produce a long litany of Death Dealing Words. Words that are fired like arrows into the hearts and minds of others. Words flung about without a care of who may be destroyed by them.
So, I write. I write about the Bible and theology. I write about the Church. I write about the abuses that I and countless others received at the hands of people who care not a whit about the damage that their words may cause.
Of course, I would like my words to speak to more people. I believe them to be important in the process of healing from abuse. I believe that my journey may benefit one or two people who are trapped in doubt. I believe that my words contain the Power to Heal.
So, I write. You may not find my words entertaining. Well, that’s not my job. You may think that I’m simply trying to impress with my great knowledge and insights. Well, maybe if I had any. I don’t. I just have my experience and my thoughts about that experience.
And, I write with hope. Hope that someone somewhere may read my words and the links in the chain that binds them to lies and death may weaken. Maybe, even fall off.

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Next Step: Violence in the Bible

Published by mhelbert on March 13, 2023

It’s Monday. Monday after a time change. Monday after the time change that costs us an hour. Why is it that humans have to try to tweek stuff that ain’t broken? Nature kept time for millions of years without our help. So, of course we have to fix it. Because we can. Sheesh!
Anyway, this Monday after the bitchiest time change is a snowy one here on the North Coast. Seven days from the start of astronomical spring and we’re getting more snow than in the whole of February. Again, Sheesh!
If it sounds like I’m complaining, it’s because I am. Well, at least I’m trying to stall for time. Yesterday we finished a Bible study on the Gospel According to John. It only took us 13 months. John can be a bit involved. For the past few years we’ve taken a book of the Bible and worked our way through from beginning to end. We looked at the culture at the time, who wrote it, to whom was it written, and why. I tried to follow a particular method that allowed the text to speak for itself. That meant trying to keep presuppositions and other baggage out. Yeah, it’s not easy. But, it gives us a better glimpse into what the writers were trying to say. Not what we would like them to say.
This next week I promised that we would begin a different kind of study. Instead of studying a particular book, we’re going to dig into a topic: Violence in the Bible. The idea that a loving and benevolent God could engage in acts of extreme violence has been a topic of study since the beginning of the Church. As early as the 2nd century folks were looking for ways to explain what the heck was going on with all of that warfare and dashing kids’ heads against rocks. Not to mention the conquest of Palestine by the Chosen People of God. It seems that blood and guts is something that the God of the Bible has no problem with.
Of course, I’m not going to get into this here. A blog isn’t a forum that allows for the in depth reading that something like this requires. So, consider this a teaser. I may write other posts as we go along.
One thing that I would like to say, though, is that the identity and character of God is quite clear. It doesn’t involve the bully-like portrait that so many paint when looking at the Scriptures. So many people, particularly those who read the Bible as a literal narrative of what happened over 2,500 years ago in the Ancient Near East, (ANE). For these folks the writers pretty much wrote what happened either as it happened, or through some supernatural understanding given by God. So, of course what the Bible says is 100% accurate history. (Spoiler alert: it’s not.) In this “history” God is completely justified in stomping out entire ethnic groups because, Sovereignty. Or, something like that. God is NOT that. At. All.
The big theology word of the day for this is hermeneutic. That’s a fancy way to say how a particular text or event in scripture is interpreted by the folks reading about it. Those mentioned above use a hermeneutic of inerrancy in order to interpret the text. What they should be using is a hermeneutic of the cross.
Ok, ok, before I go further, a bit of explanation is needed. People have told me that when I write stuff on the here blog thing that is about me and the experiences that I have, it’s a better read. They like the personal stories. So do I. Most of the time. These same folks say that when I start to wax academic I tend to lose them. Yeah, I get that. So much of the stuff that I write can seem to be cold and ‘matter of fact.’ Two things about that. 1) It’s my blog and I’ll write what I feel is necessary to write at the time. No explanation necessary. 2) The theological and Bible stuff IS who I am. It is ALL personal. So, yeah.
Sorry about the digression. I’ll flog myself later.
That hermeneutic of the cross thing is all about what happened when Jesus of Nazareth was crucified. This one event revealed the total loving heart of God. God the Son, gave His life in order to create a way for all of creation to have life. Through that action a way was opened that allows all folks everywhere to have access to God. There would no longer be a special, what, “caste” of priests that held that privilege. It was God’s choice to do this. I could go on and on ad nauseum about this. But, I’ll save you the Pepto Bismal. Just suffice it to say that the lens of God’s love on the cross is the only lens through which we can see ‘what else’ was going on in all of those violent stories.
I’ve been prepping for this new study since last fall. I still feel woefully inadequate to the task. I guess that’s why I was wasting time at the beginning of this post. We’ll see in a few weeks if this direction was a fruitful one to take. God is a pretty big topic to discuss. How God acts and why is damned near impossible.
But, we’ll give it a shot.
Sheesh!

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Life? Or, Death? Words Have Power to Create and Destroy

Published by mhelbert on March 8, 2023

It’s March in Northern Ohio.
The day before yesterday, we flirted with 60 degrees. Yesterday and today, 35 with a wind chill in the 20’s. The weather geeks say that we are currently in meteorological Spring. They might be right. I can look out my front door and see crocus starting to peak up into the sky. The robins are back en-mass. The other birds are also out in their full-throated glory filling the air with songs of hope and optimism. And, of course, the real test for this season, dead skunks along the road. Yep, around here Spring is synonymous with squashed-skunk season.
Right now, the sun is pouring through my office window. The orchid and rubber plant on my desk are loving it! It’s also good for my humor. No, not the funny kind of humor. The other kind. You know, the melancholic kind that is exorcised by sunlight. Not a bad day, so far. It’s still early, though.
I recently read a book by Dr. Randy Woodley, (Cherokee), about Indigenous theology and Western worldviews. It was a good read. One of the things that struck me was how he wrote about the traditions of passing on wisdom and stories in the two different worlds. It was a discussion about oral tradition and the written word. For those who’ve read anything that I’ve shared on this here blog thingy know, Words are a big deal with me. Words are not just powerful. They are Power, itself. Ancient people knew this well. Remember that story in Genesis in the Hebrew Bible? “God said,” and “it was so.” Stories like that create identity, if not actual worlds. Indigenous people all over the world have their own identity stories that help to explain their existence in the world. For some Native Americans, the story of how Turtle Island came to be is one such story. Although, there are different versions of the story depending on which Nation tells it, the gist is that the creatures of the earth had a large part in the creation myth. They had to work in order for their world to become real. Creator said that if they didn’t have a stake in the making of their world, they would not be grateful.
Other stories like the Sky Woman and her children gave meaning and purpose to the earliest people on this continent. These words were powerful in that they gave true identity and purpose to the people. They saw that because of Creator partnering with them, they had a vested interest in the care of the world. The earth and the cosmos around them were also part of Creator’s team to make sure that balance and life could continue. They utilized symbols and ceremony to reflect these living relationships. Wisdom and knowledge of how to live together and in the world was passed from generation to generation. The power of the stories created the living bond that stretched from age to age.
We in the West have diminished the power of words to what may be written on a piece of paper. We call those written words “binding.” That seems to me the exact opposite of the words of power that gave life and identity to all of those generations of Indigenous folks who came before us. We think that our way is the best way. All of those ‘Natives’ were nothing more than stone age hunter-gatherers before we arrived to show them the right way of things. Thank God for Us!
I could stop right there and let that thought sink in. But, I’m afraid that the thought may just bounce off and fall on the floor. We who think that our enlightened Western Way is the only way are guilty of the same arrogance that our forebears were. Our words and our laws make that true. Right? Just ask any lawyer or politician. The Rule of Law reigns supreme!
I said that words are Power. It’s true. Words have the power to bring life. Ask our Indigenous sisters and brothers and they will tell you. Words can also bring death. Our Western ideal is built on words like that. Words that kill are baked into Western culture.
I wonder if we can change that.
I wonder if we even care.

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New Beginnings; New Life

Published by mhelbert on March 2, 2023

A week ago my wife and I were trekking around Universal Orlando. She has just retired, and we decided to get away for a bit. Something we haven’t done in, oh, 40 some years. Jobs and family and stuff kept us pretty much at home except for the occasional weekend away. So, this trip was kinda special.
I took my laptop with me hoping to be able to write a bit about the trip while we there. Yeah, that didn’t happen. Besides not having any time to write, the wifi at the resort sucked big time. My computer is slow at the best of times. Add single bar wifi and, well, I could have sent letters via the USPS faster. So, that’s why I’ve been absent from here for a while.
Now, we’re home. It took until Wednesday to recuperate and get back to whatever this is that passes for normal. And, I use that term purposefully.

“Whatever this is that passes for normal.”

I retired from printing three years ago. That was at the beginning of Covid-19 and my time getting fixed up from colon cancer. Not the circumstances that I had thought would ring in the new life of “Formerly employed.” But, over the last three years I’ve tried to adjust and figure out that proverbial “New Normal.” (Spoiler alert: There’s nothing New or Normal about it. Just sayin’.) I have developed new routines and practices that help make sense of every day being Saturday. As time goes on, I’m adding some things to that in order to actually get stuff done. Like this blog.
Now, however, a new variable has been added to the mix. There are now TWO of us retired and trying to make sense of this life of non-employment. Life is never boring! I truly have no idea where the road will lead us. For sure, we want to travel a bit. I proved that I can still do the whole road trip thing. We drove to Orlando in 2 days. We drove home in 1. I’m encouraged that I can get us where we want to go, when we want to go. So, that’s good.
We also have the house that really needs some lovin’. All of those fixes and updates that have been set to the side all of these years are screaming at us for attention. There are walls to fix and paint, a roof that needs help, new windows to install, shutters to build, a garden to put in, and, of course, that grass that never stops growing. I don’t think that we’ll lack for stuff to do.
For me, besides all of the stuff that needs done, those things that my wife and I will work on together, there is the need to continue to study, think, and write. I lost way too much time while connected to the Fundagelical world. I am still trying to heal from what I would consider spiritual abuse. It wasn’t intentional, of course. While many would have viewed some of our early years as ‘cultic,’ there was no manipulation for malicious or self-serving ends by the leaders. They were, and still are, simply ignorant. That doesn’t lessen the damage done by that world.
So, I will continue to reflect, meditate, contemplate, study, and proclaim. I can do nothing else. If anyone is helped to find freedom from the chains that bind them to a false image of God and God’s people, then my work is a good thing. Besides, I find release and healing through this work as well.
Anyway, I just wanted to put something out there to let everyone know that I’m alive and kicking. I hope to reflect more on the whole retirement thing as we grow into it. I’ll also continue to attempt to speak truth to power as I see it.
If you have anything to suggest or comment on, please use the comments section at the end of this post. Perhaps, we can begin a dialog about things that will build us all up.

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Choose Life! Or, Not. It’s Up To You!

Published by mhelbert on February 16, 2023

This past Sunday I had the privilege to share from the pulpit at St. B’s. (Click here to see Facebook video of the service.) The lections for this week were difficult ones. They had to do with choosing life and death; prosperity and adversity. We read the part about divorce and anger in the Sermon on the Mount. Negative topics for many people.
I chose the passage form Deut. 30:15-20 where Moses and the elders of Israel challenged the people to choose between two ways. Would the nation of Israel follow the path that leads to life, prosperity, and security? Or, would they choose death, want, and destruction? “Choose today!” Moses commanded them.
On the face of things, this seems like, “Well, Duh!” Of course they would choose Life, Right? Who in their right mind would choose otherwise? “Lead on, Moses! We’re all with you! YAY!!!”
What most folks fail to read, though, is the part where Moses pretty much states that they will fail. And, fail miserably. He went so far as to say that they did not have hearts to know, eyes to see, nor ears to hear. In other words, after they had witnessed all that God had done with them and for them, they still would not get it at all.
A lot of folks walk around today thinking, “Whew! I’m glad that’s not me! I’m a believer and one of God’s special people. I would never make the wrong choices and wind up on God’s Naughty List! Yay, me!”
Oh, really???
Such ignorance and arrogance! When we say that God could never accept LGBT+ people, we’re exposing our arrogance. When we say that natural disasters happen because someone, (not us), sins or accepts sinfulness. When we sayt “if only we hadn’t taken prayer out of school everything would be made right” our ignorance of God shines like the noonday Sun.
Every single day we make choices that take us away from the Way of Life.
Every. Single. Day.
“Well, God leads me to believe that those people, (you fill in the blank of the latest ‘Out Group), are sinners and destined for Hell.”
No, God does NOT lead you there.
“But, the devil made me do it!” You’re not Flip Wilson. And, no the devil did NOT make you do anything.
The passage from Deuteronomy was pretty clear. Moses said, “YOU choose!”
We are all Free Moral Agents. We choose our path. No one else chooses for us. Period. God certainly is not going to force our choices. God may attempt to influence our decisions. God will never coerce a decision. And, God will never punish anyone for making any decision. God did warn the Israelites about impending doom. Not because God was planning to use some punitive action against them. No! God sees the way and may warn about the consequences that are already present on any given course. God does not cause them. In fact, by warning the Israelites, God showed love for them. “Don’t go that way! Thar be Beasties!”
Even when we choose the way that leads toward death, (and, Beasties!), God has already prepared a way for us to change direction and skip over to the path of Life. (This is something that I know personally. Lord knows I’ve chosen some horrendous paths to explore. I destroyed lives and broke relationships. Not good. You’ll need to take my word on that. I won’t detail anything. Mostly because anything that I may or may not have been active in is part and parcel of the Way of Humanity.)
For me, and for many others like me, God’s grace allowed me to change the way I followed and take the path of Life. That’s how God works. That’s Good News!
Not like the so-called good news that fundamentalists and evangelicals preach. Their good news is not good. They say that the path toward death is only averted by their proprietary formula, or better, sacred spell, that supposedly puts someone on the right path automatically. Without those magic words, people are doomed to some Medieval eternal punishment that is NEVER mentioned by God. In fact, even with the recitation of magic words, people still rush headlong along that path of curses and destruction. It’s how people are. So be it. Amen.
Still, God in God’s mercy and grace embraces us where we are when we listen to God’s voice. Then we see God as the Lover of the World who stoops into our reality, not worrying about the mud and the muck, and walks with us. Always, God leads with tenderness. Always.
Again, Good News.

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